Time to Pretend
by HipsterNarwhal
Summary: An actress is reborn as Haruno Sakura—and promptly decides that all she can do is what she does best. She acts. [OC-Insert as Sakura]
1. Chapter 1

Title: Time to Pretend

Summary: An actress is reborn as Sakura Haruno—and promptly decides that all she can do is what she does best. She acts. [OC-Insert]

* * *

_ "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages."_

_~ William __Shakespeare_

* * *

She had been famous.

Young, proud and so, _so_ naive. That's what had gotten her killed, being naive. Being kind and trusting to all the wrong sorts of people. It had been quick, though.

The cold metal of a gun pressed against the back of her head, _bang_, and then she had tumbled to the floor, dying in a pool of her blood.

Her tears had not been fake, that time. They had not been crocodile tears, not for a specific scene or movie. No. They had leaked from her eyes and ran down her cheeks, mixing with snot and blood as she had prayed for _someone to please help, please please please not me, idon'twanttodie!_

Her prayers had not been answered.

Or, well, they had, but in a rather unorthodox way. She had been reborn.

Reborn as a helpless baby, crying out with whimpers and tears as her mind had overloaded with information and memories. She could barely see, objects only being sorted into little groups in her mind based on color and size. And then she started to grow. Birthday after birthday after birthday, full of cake and laughter and parents.

Parents, a mother and a father who _tried_ to care for her. It was difficult to understand them because they were not her _real_ parents, not her real _mama_ and _papa _who had raised her to be the best person she could be. It hurt, sometimes, to be so disconnected from the world.

She only called them mother and father, maybe the occasional mom or dad sprinkled in because they were not hers and it felt so _wrong_.

They had tried to understand her, their only daughter, but they could not.

She would not let them.

She had not truly grasped her situation until the day her father had brought her to the market, her sitting on his shoulders as he pointed out specific landmarks to her. His finger had swiveled around and around until he had pointed up, right across from her and at the mountain that sat on the side of the town they lived in. Four huge faces had been carved into the rock, and her father listed out the names of the Hokages to her as she stared up in a stupefied daze.

At that point, her mind had blanked out because she had known what that was. She _knew_ what that was. And she was absolutely terrified.

That had been the moment that she had realized that this '_world_' was a manga. Naruto.

But, she had to admit, it had made everything make _so_ much more sense. It explained the itchy feeling under her skin that had begun as she grew, as well as the people she could sense _(Sense! She could sense! Was she a sensor?) _jumping across the rooftops or flickering about the village. It was chakra, the _mystical_ energy that was in every single living thing here. It was just so strange.

Surreal, even.

Growing had been an interesting endeavor. Her mind had stayed the same but her body had been constantly changing, from baby to toddler to slightly bigger toddler. She remembered days of boredom and other things, terrible, terrible things, like the Kyuubi attack.

She had only been a baby, only a few months old when it had happened. When everything had gone dark and felt so, _so_ terrifying. When the air had stopped going into her lungs the right way even as she tried to scream at them to _work,_ _work __goddammit_ but her mouth had refused to open. It had not been a fun time.

No, not at _all_.

And, sometimes, she knew that her parents had noticed that she was just a bit _too _attentive or smart.

That she was _abnormal_. Unnatural.

Their stares would linger a little longer and they would pay a little more attention to what she did. That was okay because if there was one thing she was good at, it was acting. And while acting as a child was not the easiest, she could manage. She had to manage because if she didn't then she would be a _prodigy_ and then she would be the center of attention.

It's harder to act, to lie, when everyone watches your every move. She knew that if she was being watched to closely to often her facade would crack for one tiny moment, and something would slip out that was not meant to slip out and then things would escalate until she was dead, or worse. She did _not _want to be dead from a stupid mistake.

Not again.

And she didn't want too many high expectations, because that would mean _work_ and she had already done enough of that for a lifetime.

She was terrified, honestly. She hadn't even finished the series because her former acting career had gotten in the way of almost all of her leisurely activities. There were too many dangers in this world and she wasn't strong enough to fight any of them. Too many unknowns, and far too many details she had forgotten over the years.

Life as a ninja was a daring game, one that included walking across a tightrope that hung between death and even _more_ death. But she had chosen to play because she had nothing to lose.

_ Nothing at all._

And, so, here she was in all her glory, Sakura Haruno with pink hair and green eyes and an oversized forehead.

Today was her first day at the academy, her first step forward into the suicidal career of a ninja. And she would have fun, even if it killed her.

_(It probably would.)_

* * *

**AN: **I partially know where I am going with this and may or may not continue, because writing fanfic is kinda just a hobby for my bored brain - I probably will keep updating slowly _or _I might spurt out a few more chapters and give up. Who knows? (Please review if you see a grammar mistake or have input for me to improve on something! Thanks!)

Anyways...

Thanks for reading! Have a happy late Thanksgiving!

**Edit: **12/02/19 - small grammar mistakes.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Time to Pretend

Summary: An actress is reborn as Sakura Haruno—and promptly decides that all she can do is what she does best. She acts. [OC-Insert]

* * *

_"One of the greatest regrets in life is being what others would want you to be, rather than being yourself."_

_~ Shannon L. Alder_

* * *

She was laying on her back, face turned towards the cloudless sky with her lips quirked in a small smile. She was _finally_ alone—no more people could watch her. Judge her.

"Hey! Forehead!"

And then, of course, a shadow had to come along and block her wonderful view.

Sakura sighed. Ami glared, asymmetrical hair whipping around in the wind as her purple eyebrows furrowed in anger. Her hands were clenched into fists, knuckles turning an interesting shade of white as she sneered down at her.

A group of girls followed Ami's warpath, giggling and taking their time to mockingly point at Sakura. A few put their hands to their mouths and whispered petty insults about her to one another, just _daring_ themselves to single her out, the amazing pariah she was. _Ugh._

Today was kunoichi class, and that meant she had to deal with _this_.

"Forehead girl."

A finger sunk into the side of her stomach.

"Forehead."

Poke.

"Forehead!"

_Pokkkeee._

"_Forehea_—"

Sakura held her arm out and slowly pushed Ami's away. The girl seemed to glare at her even harder, clearly affronted by her action. Ami tried to force Sakura's hand back. The girl's efforts were... unfulfilling.

"Hmph," Ami put her hands on her hips and looked down at her with a sneer, "Having fun today, are you?"

No. Not really. Sakura let out a quiet sigh and placed her hands against her head, covering her face and hiding her exasperated expression.

"Don't hide, _forehead!_ You aren't afraid, are you?" Ami smirked, triumphant.

Sakura wanted to bang her head against the ground.

_Why was she doing this? __Why? _

She could still hear Ami gossiping away to her heart's content, main topics being several elementary insults aimed towards her looks and intelligence.

She tried to tune out the nonstop chatter, taking a moment to fall back into her thoughts. Why was Ami so mad at her? She tried to dig through whatever she recalled of her interactions with the girl and _oh_, that made so much more sense. As it had turned out, Ami had a slightly good excuse to be so pissed off at her.

Sakura _had _practically ignored her for the past month, even when the girl had tried to be her friend, which had probably bruised Ami's ego because she was a kid and _why not?_

Honestly, going to school had always been a terrible idea and Ninja school was no exception whatsoever. It was _supposed_ to be fun because she was here to learn about how to defy freaking gravity and break goddamn physics, but _noooo_, she just had to fake being emotionally hurt by a gang of toddler bullies. Sakura snorted. _Toddler gang_. She paused.

_Oh god_.

It looked like her sense of humor had gone straight down the drain, right along with her amazing looks and the ability to have self-preservation.

Self-preservation. She...does she care about herself?

Sakura blew out a breath, warm air falling out of her lips and down her chin. Yes. Yes, she does. Just... not this version of herself—the fake Sakura Haruno _who was a fucking anime character_. She cared about her _real _self, the one that was supposed to be alive and happy. She cared about the one who was _dead_, an empty body rotting away in a ditch on a road near the middle of nowhere.

Sakura struggled to keep a frown off her face.

_ (Smiles were easy, frowns were hard, but she was an actor_—_it was her damn job.)_

She knew that, if given even the slightest chance, she would sell her soul to the devil to get the opportunity to go _back_. To see her family just one more time. _Just one more time. Please. _That... was probably _not_ a good sign.

"—so that's why you can't mess with Sakura-chan. She's my friend now!"

Something small and wet fell on her arm. Startled, Sakura blinked at the shining droplet of water that had landed on the back of her hand. She looked up. Tears were pouring out of Ami's eyes and down her face, running along the lines of her mouth which... _had_ _flowers in it? _She had clearly spaced out because she honestly had no idea about what the _hell _was going on.

She looked across from Ami and _holy shit that was a mini-Ino Yamanaka._

"SHUT UP! I hate you!" Ami's face was scrunched up and red as she screamed at them.

The girl stormed off in a whirlwind of tears and loud stomping. Talk about a _temper-tantrum_. Someone cleared their throat. Oh. Sakura looked back up to Mini-Ino, who was giving her a kind smile. Sakura gave her an appreciative look.

And then Ino started _talking_.

"Hi! My name is Ino, though I think you already knew that because we're in the same class and sorry about Ami but do you want to be friends? And oh my gosh did you _see what sensei was wearing today! I can't even believe it, honestly what kind of color even was that shirt_—_"_

Sakura blinked. Wait, they were going to have to talk? _Urk. _Socializing with toddlers was a skill that she had never really had the chance to acquire in either life.

* * *

**AN: **Sooooo, this is still a thing. I actually might update this on a schedule, like every Sunday or Saturday because I'm starting to enjoy writing this. (Please review if you see a mistake - there will probably be one since I'm writing this)

Thanks so much for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Time to Pretend

Summary: An actress is reborn as Sakura Haruno—and promptly decides that all she can do is what she does best. She acts. [OC-Insert]

* * *

_"All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost." _

_~ J.R.R Tolkien_

* * *

Class at the academy was... boring, for a lack of a better word.

Math was too easy, as was science. History was a bit more of a challenge, but not by much. All she had to really do was read a few books and memorize some names. The physical aspect of the training was a different story. She wasn't bad, no, not by a long shot.

She just wasn't _good_.

If she were compared to her classmates, yes, she would seem pretty smart and strong. To the rest of the world, though, she was just a kid. A kid who could kick and bite and scream, but a kid nonetheless. It made her furious. So, of course, she trained. She trained and trained and trained 'till her kegs gave out and her hands were covered in blisters.

Sakura started getting better.

It just took... a _lot_ of time.

She didn't seem _super _smart in class—she knew better. She stayed a little above average in some parts, a little below in others.

She was practically a normal kid.

_(as normal as someone like her could be)_

* * *

Sakura gripped the handle of the kunai tightly, cold metal brushing against her skin. She stared at the target and adjusted her stance.

_Thunk._

She grabbed a few more out of a pile on the ground beside her.

_Thunk. Thunk thunk thunk thunk._

She wiped her forehead, hands aching and mouth dry. She looked at the target—she looked at the thin piece of wood, splintered and cracked, with six kunai sticking out of the middle.

Sakura smiled. _(everything hurt so bad)_

_Bullseye_.

She grabbed her weapons and ran home.

* * *

Sakura woke up with a start. Her breathing was labored and she couldn't—

s_omething cold was pressing against her head and it was a gun and she couldn't... __shecouldn'tbreatheshecouldn'tbreathe!_

Her hands shook.

Sakura frowned, face pale.

Her eyes were starting to sting. She blinked until they stopped. Her heart was pounding. She took a shuddering breath and her whole body shook along with it, raking across her spine and crawling down her toes.

It was just a dream. _(but it was real)_

She went back to bed.

* * *

_Thunk._

Sakura whipped her head up. Her muscles were tense as she scanned her surroundings... and saw a piece of chalk on the floor beside her foot.

_Oh_. _Oops_.

Her forehead was starting to sting.

"Sakura, Shikamaru," Iruka-sensei said, eyes twitching. "Come see me after class. And do _not _fall asleep again!"

Shikamaru grunted in response. Sakura had to stifle her laughter.

"Yes, Iruka-sensei," Sakura said.

And then she went back to sleep.

_(What? She was tired!)_

* * *

**AN: **Trying to write because I'm bored, but also not wanting to write because I'm lazy. So I produced this pseudo-chapter-thingy about sakura's thoughts and actions during her childhood! _Yay me_.

Merry Christmas (and a happy new year!)

_Also, yes, I know that it is realllllyyyy short, but... I'm lazy so meh._

**_Edit:_** 12/24/19 (Thank god for Grammarly)


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